All Things Bubba

During spring training, the Yankees were attacked by a swarm of bees...twice. I wondered at the time if it was some kind of omen.

Maybe it was. Tonight, the Yanks were undone by bugs. As in insects. Joba Chamberlain was lights-out...until the infield was invaded by a swarm of bugs.

According to the Indians staff, the bugs were "Canadian soldiers." Also known as mayflies, June bugs, and shadflies. Um...paging Al Gore. Mayflies in October? Something's not right. They said the unusually warm weather caused the bugs to hatch early.

Anyway, it was really bad. They sprayed everyone with OFF. It didn't seem to help. Poor Joba Chamberlain had bugs stuck to his neck, stuck to his face, and swarming all over his hat and jersey. Clearly, they bothered him. He completely lost the strikezone, throwing way outside, hitting and walking batters. He ended up giving up the tying run.

The game went to extras with the score 1-1. The Yankees had been living dangerously all night, letting runners get on, but somehow wiggling out of it. Even Mo loaded the bases, though he, like Pettitte, escaped unscathed.

Their luck ran out in the 11th, with Vizcaino on the mound. He gave up a bases-loaded single to Travis Hafner, which easily scored...you guessed it...Kenny Lofton.

The Yanks are now down 0-2 in a suddenly very short series. Things are not looking good for our heroes.

I was surprised that Torre ran the same lineup out there today. I thought he'd try to shake things up, get Giambi in, maybe. Will he finally make a change on Sunday?

I think Melky and Minky stay in the lineup. They both had great plays on defense tonight. Melky gunned down a runner at the plate, while Minky caught a screaming liner that would have been trouble if it got past him (and might have killed him if he hadn't caught it). If Giambi gets in the lineup, it's got to be Godzilla who sits.

I still haven't figured out what Torre was thinking yesterday. Why throw Ohlendorf to the wolves? Was it reliever tryouts, as some thought? Or sheer desperation, hoping he'd do well (because he knew the rest of the pen wouldn't?). And why put Hughes into a game that was hopeless? Fear that the game would never end if he didn't?

Strange as it seems to say about the Yankees, I really think they are too young. At least pitching-wise. The kids are freaked out by the pressure of the post-season, and it's killing the Yanks. Even Joba Chamberlain, the best of the rookie pitchers, just lost it...due to the bugs. Admittedly, it was a tough situation. But the other pitchers - Carmona, Perez, Mo, etc. - managed to deal with it. They were clearly bothered, too, but they didn't let it affect their pitching. I'm not criticizing Joba. He's got a bright future ahead of him, but right now, he's still very green, and I think that came back to bite us tonight. So to speak.